One-Pot Vegan Pav Bhaji with Cauliflower, Beet and Toasted Garlic Rolls
Vegan pav bhaji made in one pot: potatoes, cauliflower, peas and a little beet simmered with tomato and Kashmiri chili, then mashed and served with garlic rolls.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 45 min
- Serves
- 4
One-Pot Vegan Pav Bhaji with Cauliflower, Beet and Toasted Garlic Rolls is a vegetarian dinner recipe made with neutral oil, cumin seeds, yellow onion. It takes 65 minutes of hands-on time, serves 4, and each serving has 554 calories, 14 g of protein and 11 g of fiber.
Mumbai street vendors mash their vegetables on a big griddle. Here everything simmers in one covered pot until soft enough to mash right in it. A small grated beet turns the bhaji deep red without changing the flavor, and Kashmiri chili adds color with only mild heat. Olive oil and garlic replace the usual butter on the rolls, so they still come out crisp and rich, with no dairy.
Ingredients
Bhaji
- 3 tbsp42 gneutral oil
- 1 tsp2.1 gcumin seeds
- 1 large150 gyellow onion, finely chopped
- 5 cloves15 ggarlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp6 gfresh ginger, finely grated
- 1 large155 ggreen bell pepper, finely chopped
- 2 tsp3.6 gKashmiri chili powder
- 2 tsp4 ggaram masala
- 1 tsp1.8 gground coriander
- ½ tsp1.5 gground turmeric
- 1 can411 gcrushed tomatoes, 14.5 oz can
- 2 medium426 grusset or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 3 cups321 gcauliflower, cut into small florets
- 1 small57 graw beet, peeled and coarsely grated
- 1 cup134 gfrozen green peas
- 2 cups474 gwater, plus more as needed
- 1½ tsp9 gfine salt, or to taste
- 2 tbsp31 gfresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup4 gcilantro, chopped
Garlic rolls
- 8 224 gsoft dinner rolls, split horizontally (check the label to make sure they're dairy-free)
- 3 tbsp41 golive oil
- 2 cloves6 ggarlic cloves, finely grated
- ¼ tsp0.5 gKashmiri chili powder
- 2 tbsp2 gcilantro, finely chopped
To serve
- ½ cup80 gred onion, finely diced (optional)
- 1 100 glemon, cut into wedges (optional)
Kit: large Dutch oven or heavy pot with lid, potato masher, large skillet
Tips
- Grate the beet on the large holes of a box grater so it melts into the bhaji. Chunks can stay firm and taste earthy.
- Cut the potatoes small (about 1/2 inch) so they soften at the same rate as the cauliflower.
- The bhaji thickens as it stands. Loosen it with hot water just before serving so it spreads easily on the rolls.
- Many store-bought dinner rolls contain milk or butter, so check the label or buy a bakery roll you know is vegan.
Swap ideas
- Use 1 tbsp store-bought pav bhaji masala in place of the garam masala and coriander
- Gives a more classic street-stall flavor with a slightly tangy, peppery finish.
- Use vegan butter instead of olive oil for the rolls and for the last spoonful stirred into the bhaji
- Tastes closer to the buttery Mumbai original.
- Replace the cauliflower with an equal amount of chopped carrot
- Makes a slightly sweeter bhaji with an orange-red color. Simmer a few minutes longer.
- Pressure-cook the vegetables with the tomato base for 8 minutes at high pressure, then mash and simmer uncovered
- Cuts the cooking time by about 15 minutes.
The numbers
Nutrition per serving
554kcal per serving
Everything else · 4 servings per recipe
- Saturated fat
- 3.3 g 16%
- Sugars
- 14.4 g
- Sodium
- 1341 mg 58%
- Potassium
- 1301 mg 28%
- Calcium
- 213 mg 16%
- Iron
- 6 mg 33%
- Vitamin C
- 138 mg 153%
- Vitamin B12
- 0.08 µg 3%
% Daily Value on a 2,000 calorie diet. Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient; optional ingredients are excluded. Estimates vary with brands and portions.
Sources: Oil, canola, Spices, cumin seed, Onions, raw, Garlic, raw, Ginger root, raw, Peppers, sweet, red, raw, Spices, pepper, red or cayenne (SR Legacy; used as proxy for pure ground red chili, since USDA 'chili powder' is a salted spice blend), ORGANIC GARAM MASALA (KHAZANA, SLT Foods Inc.; USDA Branded Foods, serving size 100 g), Spices, coriander seed, Spices, turmeric, ground, Tomatoes, red, ripe, canned, packed in tomato juice, Potatoes, flesh and skin, raw, Cauliflower, raw, Beets, raw, Peas, green, frozen, unprepared (Includes foods for USDA's Food Distribution Program), Beverages, water, tap, drinking, Salt, table, Lemon juice, raw, Coriander (cilantro) leaves, raw, Rolls, dinner, plain, commercially prepared (includes brown-and-serve), Oil, olive, salad or cooking
Method
Heat the neutral oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and cook until they sizzle and darken a shade, about 30 seconds. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until soft and golden at the edges, 7–8 minutes.
Stir in the 5 minced garlic cloves and the ginger and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the bell pepper and cook until it starts to soften, 3–4 minutes.
Lower the heat to medium-low and add the Kashmiri chili powder, garam masala, coriander and turmeric. Stir for 30 seconds so the spices toast in the oil without scorching, then pour in the crushed tomatoes. Simmer, stirring, until the sauce thickens and oil starts to bead at the edges, 4–5 minutes.
Add the potatoes, cauliflower, grated beet, peas, water and salt. Bring to a boil, then cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring every 5 minutes so nothing sticks, until the potatoes and cauliflower break apart easily when pressed with a spoon, 20–25 minutes. If the pot looks dry, add water a few tablespoons at a time.
Take off the lid and mash the vegetables right in the pot with a potato masher until mostly smooth, with a few small pieces left, 3–4 minutes. Simmer uncovered over medium-low, stirring often, until the bhaji is thick, holds soft peaks and sits up on a spoon, 5–7 minutes. Thin with a splash of hot water if it gets too stiff.
Turn off the heat. Stir in the lemon juice and the 1/4 cup cilantro, then taste and add more salt or lemon if it needs it. Cover to keep warm.
For the rolls, stir the olive oil, the 2 grated garlic cloves, the 1/4 tsp Kashmiri chili and the 2 tbsp cilantro together in a small bowl. Brush the mixture over the cut sides of the rolls.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Toast the rolls cut side down, in batches, until golden and crisp, 1–2 minutes, then flip and warm the tops for 30 seconds. Serve the hot bhaji with the rolls, chopped red onion and lemon wedges.
Storage: Cool the bhaji and keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, or freeze it for up to 3 months. Reheat in a pan with a splash of water, stirring until steaming hot. The garlic rolls are best toasted just before serving.
Questions
- How much protein is in one-pot vegan pav bhaji with cauliflower, beet and toasted garlic rolls?
- Each of the 4 servings has 14 g of protein, 11 g of fiber and 554 calories, calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for every ingredient.
- Is one-pot vegan pav bhaji with cauliflower, beet and toasted garlic rolls vegan?
- No, it's vegetarian rather than vegan because it contains soft dinner rolls. Everything else in it is plant-based.
- How long does one-pot vegan pav bhaji with cauliflower, beet and toasted garlic rolls take to make?
- 20 minutes of prep and 45 minutes of cooking, so 65 minutes of hands-on time.
- Can you make one-pot vegan pav bhaji with cauliflower, beet and toasted garlic rolls ahead?
- Cool the bhaji and keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, or freeze it for up to 3 months. Reheat in a pan with a splash of water, stirring until steaming hot. The garlic rolls are best toasted just before serving.
- What can I substitute in one-pot vegan pav bhaji with cauliflower, beet and toasted garlic rolls?
- Use 1 tbsp store-bought pav bhaji masala in place of the garam masala and coriander — gives a more classic street-stall flavor with a slightly tangy, peppery finish.. Use vegan butter instead of olive oil for the rolls and for the last spoonful stirred into the bhaji — tastes closer to the buttery mumbai original.. Replace the cauliflower with an equal amount of chopped carrot — makes a slightly sweeter bhaji with an orange-red color. simmer a few minutes longer.. Pressure-cook the vegetables with the tomato base for 8 minutes at high pressure, then mash and simmer uncovered — cuts the cooking time by about 15 minutes..
- Does one-pot vegan pav bhaji with cauliflower, beet and toasted garlic rolls contain gluten or nuts?
- We can't say from our data — this recipe uses an ingredient we don't hold allergen information for, so treat the ingredient list as the only source of truth and check the labels on what you buy.
Nutrition is calculated from USDA data for every ingredient — how we work it out.
Published October 5, 2026 ·Indian